<p>Okay so I am an international student who got accepted to both. I want to study Political Science with a focus on the Middle East (culture, language, and history included)... I also happen to enjoy philosophy. </p>
<p>So for these interests, which college will be able to offer me a "better education."</p>
<p>Well I can tell you that this would be a no brainer for my S. He would tell you Williams, with absolutely no questions and no looking back. While Williams ended up his 3rd choice in the end, there is no comparison for him between Colgate and Williams, except that they are both in remote locations. (He tends more towards East Asia studies, but I’m sure that the Middle East studies would be great as well.) I will leave the details to some of course offerings of some of the more experienced people here. Williams’ resources and opportunities are simply outstanding. We were lucky enough to visit both schools, but out of 18 schools that we visited during that trip, Colgate was that only one that he asked to leave before we even had the tour (and I really did agree with him). We really liked Williams both the school and the town.</p>
<p>Hello GvaMom, </p>
<p>May I ask why your son wanted to leave Colgate so quickly? What was it about there that put you off? </p>
<p>Going by rankings and “quantitative” measures easily shows that Williams blows Colgate out of the water. The problem is that the quantitative measures have been considered suspect by people on and off of this forum. For example, the story of the fallout between Reed College and USNWR and the subsequent drop in Reed’s ranking is an often cited one, which perhaps elicits guarded suspicion towards the USNWR rankings.</p>
<p>I guess - to be more specific - at which college will courses on political science and middle eastern studies (be it a subset of the poli sci department or an entirely autonomous one) be more engaging. Engagement, in my opinion, couples both talented, ambitious, and lively professors with an equally interested, and even existentially driven student body.</p>
<p>Look at the relevant courses at the two colleges. Course catalogues are usually online as PDF’s. That should give you insight into the departments you’re interested in.</p>
<p>Philosophy is strong at Williams, but it is often weak in languages. Check the offerings in Arabic at both institutions. That should give you an idea of how to proceed.</p>
<p>I think you are over thinking the rankings squabbles. Williams has a larger per student endowment and is definitely stronger in some departments; that doesn’t mean it’s stronger in all departments or that it’s a better choice for you.</p>
<p>Hi King, keep in mind, we had been at Amherst and Williams the day before, and Hamilton that morning, schools that he really liked (and Williams he loved!). We got there early and waited for the information session, but there was no real interaction or feeling of welcome from anyone. I think that it just gave him a strange feeling of not really being welcome and nothing changed during the information session and by then I had started feeling similarly.</p>
<p>But to the more important question of education, I felt bad that I had left things with just the esoteric feelings we had. You haven’t mentioned where you are from, nor where you hope to go after undergrad which would help in providing more reasons. But here are the reasons that I would give you for choosing Williams over Colgate. If you are considering graduate school in the US, I think that Williams will give you an extra boost, both from the application process and the general preparation. If you aren’t sure about the US for graduate school, another thing that my son loved about Williams was the option to spend a year at Oxford University in England at Exeter College. Certainly if you are looking at more international options that would be very interesting to have on your CV. </p>
<p>As far as the rankings, I understand what you are saying, my older son goes to Lafayette which was also impacted by their decision to not meet all the requirements for USWNR, but when you look at Williams and Colgate, as they both participate to the fullest, thus I think that relative ranking do have some value. </p>
<p>Mythmom is giving you good advice about comparing the two schools, but all things being equal, go with Williams, you won’t be sorry.</p>